Songs made nowadays are mere shouting: Kumar Sanu

New Delhi, April 7 (IANS) Music buffs still remember Kumar Sanu for his soulful renditions in hit film “Aashiqui”, but the singer says he now stays away from the Bollywood music scene because songs today are nothing but “shouting”. “I’m lucky that I am not singing the kind of songs that are being made today. These songs are just mere shouting. I’m known for singing calm, soothing numbers and I want to keep doing that,” Sanu, who was honoured with the Padma Shri award this year, told IANS.

“It’s not that I don’t get offers. I’ve been offered various songs in Bollywood films, but I refused. When I’ll be offered a nice, meaningful song, I’ll sing it,” the 51-year-old singer said.

Sanu, who won the Filmfare best male playback award for five consecutive years, got his first break in Hindi films with the 1987 film “Aandhiyan”.

He has worked with almost all renowned music composers in the industry - from R.D. Burman to Jatin-Lalit - and sung hits like “Mera dil bhi” (”Saajan”), “Sochenge tumhe pyar” (”Deewana”), “Ye kaali kaali ankhein” (”Baazigar”), “Ek ladki ko dekha toh” (”1942: A Love Story”) and “Do dil” (”Pardes”) among others.

Sanu says getting the Padma Shri this year was an honour and a responsibility.

“I want to thank the government for bestowing such a big honour on me. It has come after 22 years, but at least they thought that I deserve it. I’m extremely happy and I know that it is a big responsibility. I’ll do more and better work now,” said Sanu.

The singer also recently received an award from the Sur Aradhna Socio-Cultural society in the capital.

After judging reality show “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa - Vishwa Sera” on Zee Bangla and viewing scores of others, Sanu says such shows are nothing but a way for channels to mint money.

“Reality shows are nothing but games. It’s a good way of minting money by the channels. Public voting is a wrong way of selecting the best singer in such shows. You cannot always trust the public that whatever they choose is the best. Judges should be given this power. Otherwise what are they there for?” Sanu asked.

He, however, admits that it is much easier for aspiring singers to get a chance to sing in films now.

“It’s very easy today to get into the industry and get a song or two to sing. Today youngsters have various platforms which help them in getting recognition.

“When we wanted to be a singer, it was very tough for us to break in. People were too used to listening to Kishore Kumar and Mohammad Rafi. Replacing such legends was not even conceivable, but to be able to get a song with them being there was also not easy,” said Sanu, who had broken a Guinness World Record by singing 28 songs in a single day in 1993.

Currently concentrating more on regional languages including Bengali, Bhojpuri and Tamil, Sanu will be heard in his home production “Yeh Sunday Kyon Aata Hai?” and also a few untitled projects.